GamingOnLinuxhas reported a series of Steam Client Beta updates for Steam Deck and Steam Desktop between August 22 and August 23.
Since theSteam Deck’s SteamOS 3 Steam Client is intrinsically linked to the OS itself, it makes sense that we’re now seeing frequent, coinciding Steam Deck Beta updates that line up with the updates we’re seeing over on the Desktop Steam Client Beta channel. Features likeIn-Game Recordingget enabled for the Steam Client on Desktop and Deck in parallel, and the updated Big Picture Interface made its way from SteamOS 3 to desktop Steam earlier this year.
As noted by GamingOnLinux in their coverage, there are some remarkable similarities between the patch notes for Deck and Desktop. Since the two versions of the Steam Client are now essentially being developed in parallel, this makes a lot of sense. There is no reason to allow Deck’s Steam Client or Desktop’s Steam Client to get ahead of the other after all—Valvestill has a massive PC market to serve, and it’s best to keep the experience as consistent as possible within reason.
Steam Deck Beta Client Changes for August 22 and August 23
Steam Desktop Beta Client Changes for August 22 and August 23*
*Note: Many of these patch notes are near-identical to the ones for the Deck, for reasons discussed above.
Overall, this week’s set of Steam Client Beta updates shows that the ongoing development of Steam Deck, SteamOS 3, and the Steam Client is now more interconnected than ever. For quite a long time, there was a significant disparity between Deck’s SteamOS 3 and its Steam Client compared to the Desktop experience enjoyed by everyone else, but now it seems we are well and truly past that.
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Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.
